Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks slip a bit: Global economic picture is looking dicier by the day. Dow is down about 5 points.

Crude tops $105 a barrel: Oil could remain on the high side for quite some time, says Robert Powell, Middle East analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit. From Ticker Talk:

That, of course, will keep gas prices elevated, which Powell notes is "particularly tough on the U.S." because we don't have nearly as high gasoline taxes as in Europe. "So people here notice any shift in oil prices," he says. "It puts up the cost for businesses and the man on the street, which hits consumer spending." If the unrest spreads to Saudi Arabia then "all bets are off," Powell says, suggesting crude could "easily" rise above $150 per barrel in such a scenario.

Delta losing business on Japan: A 20 percent drop in service, including the suspension of all flights to one of Tokyo's two airports, will cut revenues from $250 million to $400 million this year. Delta is the biggest foreign carrier in Japan. (NYT)

Big cuts to CSU system: They're talking about reducing enrollment by 10,000 students for the 2011-12 school year as part of an 18 percent budget cut - and that assumes legislators and voters approve a series of tax extensions. From the Sacramento Bee:

CSU will not consider employee furloughs unless the budget cuts are deeper than $500 million, said Chancellor Charles Reed. That could happen if Brown's proposed tax extensions don't get on the ballot or are rejected by voters. In that case, Reed said, the CSU could see cuts of $1 billion. "A reduction of that level would force us to re-examine potentially drastic measures, including much-larger cuts to enrollment and increased tuition fees, among other strategies," Reed said.

Google's book business in limbo: A federal judge said the $125-million legal settlement with publishers and authors would have granted Google a "de facto monopoly" of the digital book business. From the NYT:

Judge Chin acknowledged that "the creation of a universal digital library would benefit many," but said that the proposed agreement was "not fair, adequate and reasonable." He left open the possibility that a substantially revised agreement could pass legal muster. Judge Chin was recently elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, but handled the case as a district court judge. The decision is also a setback for the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, which sued Google in 2005 over its book-scanning project. After two years of painstaking negotiations, the authors, publishers and Google signed a sweeping settlement that would have brought millions of printed works into the digital age.

New home sales plunge 17%: Homebuilders have struggled to compete with a wave of foreclosures - and obviously they're not succeeding. The median price of a new home fell nearly 14 percent in February to $202,100, the lowest since December 2003. (AP)

Barnes & Noble can't find buyer: Private-equity firms and other bidders have backed away from the auction, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. Company will keep looking for a few more weeks.